As seen on Regnskogfondet
Norway’s Pension Fund establishes tropical forest protection as a priority theme within its social and environmental ownership strategy after years of harsh criticism from environmental and human rights organisations. The Fund now requests companies to reduce their contribution to deforestation in rainforest countries.
Photo: Regnskogfondet
This decision is a turnaround from the Norwegian government and an important step forward in the battle to save the world’s rainforests. Companies responsible for deforestation now get a message from one of the world’s largest investors that it is unacceptable to continue destroying rainforests for profit” says Lars Løvold” director of Rainforest Foundation Norway.
Norway’s Pension Fund is the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund” and invests in more than 7000 companies. The total value of the Fund is around 650 billion USD.
A key element of the Fund’s ethical investment policy is to engage in an “ownership dialogue” on selected topics with companies in the Fund’s investment portfolio. The priorities for the ethical ownership policy are children’s rights” climate change risk management” and water management. The Norwegian government has now announced that tropical deforestation is defined as a specific subject within the Fund’s work on climate change.
Private companies are responsible for major deforestation and forest degradation through the production of palm oil” soy” meat” oil and gas” pulp” timber and minerals from rainforest areas. A recent report from Rainforest Foundation Norway and Friends of the Earth Norway documents that Norway through its Pension Fund invests 13.7 billion dollars in 73 companies in these sectors. The invested amount is 27 times higher than what Norway spends annually on rainforest protection.
– It is grossly immoral that the future pensions of Norwegians are partly financed by rainforest destruction and human rights violations. After five years of hard work” we are very pleased to see that Norway’s Pension Fund finally joins the battle to stop the destruction of the world’s last tropical rainforests” says Løvold.
Download the report: “Beauty and the Beast – Norway's investments in rainforest protection and rainforest destruction”.
Norway became an international champion for rainforest protection in 2007″ when Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg pledged 500 million USD annually for rainforest protection. Despite this engagement” Norway has not had a consistent policy to avoid Pension Fund investments in companies responsible for rainforest destruction.
The Pension Fund management has not yet revealed how it will enter into dialogue with the companies” or if the results from the dialogue will be made available to the public. Rainforest Foundation Norway demands transparency and insight into how the Fund’s ethical policy is implemented” this being a prerequisite to monitor whether the ethical objectives of the fund are reached.
This decision strengthens Norway’s reputation as an advocate of rainforest protection. What remains now is to make this policy operational and demonstrate to the world that Norway is able to follow up on its high profile commitment to save the tropical forests” says Løvold.
Rainforest Foundation Norway started tracking Norway’s Pension Fund investments in companies responsible for rainforest destruction in 2007. The organisation has worked together with NGOs like the Environmental Investigation Agency and partners in rainforest countries to change the fund’s investment policy.
Original source